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Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Energy industries & utilities
The challenge to manage the allocation of water efficiently and equably will become a dominant theme of the new millennium. At a time when the cost of obtaining fresh water is rising throughout the globe, Terence Lee analyses the means for establishing and operating effective water markets. He proposes the application of economic instruments and the transfer of water management administration to the private sector as a means to guarantee acceptable water quality in the future in both developed and developing countries. This treatment of water as an economic commodity implies a change in the traditional role of governments in water management. The themes explored in this book will be of interest to environmental and resource economists as well as practitioners and policymakers.
This extensive Handbook captures a range of expertise and perspectives on the changing geographies and landscapes of energy production, distribution, and use. Combining established and emerging scholarship from across disciplines, the expert contributions provide a broad overview of research frontiers for the changing geographies of energy worldwide. Interdisciplinary in nature and broad in scope, it serves to answer a range of questions and provide the reader with conceptual and methodological foundations. The conversation spans the gamut from smart grids to alternative fuels, discussed in a range of settings from India to Nigeria and from Brazil to North America, highlighting the ways in which new energy technologies and consumer dynamics are changing the way people, places, and the physical world are interconnected through energy systems. In addition to a compendium of regional case studies, the Handbook identifies emerging conceptual and methodological frameworks that help us better understand energy and energy transitions. Unique in scope and breadth, this Handbook's dual purpose as a capsule for existing and emerging geographical perspectives on energy will be of immense value to students and scholars in the social sciences, environmental sciences, and humanities. Policymakers and planners will also benefit from the novel perspectives and the illuminating exploration of geographic information systems, community energy planning, and energy landscapes. Contributors include: J.E. Baka, R.E. Baxter, K. Bickerstaff, M.J. Blair, S. Bouzarovski, G. Bridge, K. Burchell, L. Cabral, K.E. Calvert, V. Castan Broto, D. Chatti, P.M. Connor, E.B. Davis, N. Dusyk, K. Ellegard, C. Enaux, K.-H. Erb, M. Finley-Brook, D. Fitzpatrick, P. Gerber, J.K. Graybill, H. Haberl, J.H. Haggerty, H. Haniotou, C. Harrison, A. Hesse, P. Huang, P. Johnstone, F. Krausmann, P. Le Billon, H. Leck, A. Livino, K. Lo, E.P. Louie, W.E. Mabee, S.M. McCauley, B. Mitchell, D. Mulvaney, M. Niedertscheider, J. Palm, P. Parker, M.J. Pasqualetti, S. Petrova, P. Picchi, E.J. Popke, N. Simcock, H.C.M. Smith, B.D. Solomon, J.D. Stephen, J.C. Stephens, R. Stock, S. Stremke, M.J. Taylor, H. Thomson, M.T. Tolmasquim, D. van der Horst, M.J. Watts, E. Webb, M.D. Woodworth, K.S. Zimmerer
While canvassing for the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 Neil Findlay made a discovery. Visiting the home that used to be his grandparents', he was shown a plywood panel where John 'Jock' Findlay, his grandfather, had written his life's tale. This is Jock's story. Jock grew up and grew old in the West Lothian village of Pumpherston - a village dominated by one industry, shale oil mining. In his own words he describes the good times, and the hard times, of living and working in Pumpherston. This is a story about a Scottish industry, a village and, most of all, a community.
Most complex physical phenomena can be described by nonlinear equations, specifically, differential equations. In water engineering, nonlinear differential equations play a vital role in modeling physical processes. Analytical solutions to strong nonlinear problems are not easily tractable, and existing techniques are problem-specific and applicable for specific types of equations. Exploring the concept of homotopy from topology, different kinds of homotopy-based methods have been proposed for analytically solving nonlinear differential equations, given by approximate series solutions. Homotopy-Based Methods in Water Engineering attempts to present the wide applicability of these methods to water engineering problems. It solves all kinds of nonlinear equations, namely algebraic/transcendental equations, ordinary differential equations (ODEs), systems of ODEs, partial differential equations (PDEs), systems of PDEs, and integro-differential equations using the homotopy-based methods. The content of the book deals with some selected problems of hydraulics of open-channel flow (with or without sediment transport), groundwater hydrology, surface-water hydrology, general Burger’s equation, and water quality. Features: Provides analytical treatments to some key problems in water engineering Describes the applicability of homotopy-based methods for solving nonlinear equations, particularly differential equations Compares different approaches in dealing with issues of nonlinearity
Most people-including many legislators, regulators, and other decision makers in the electric utility industry-have misconceptions about how electric utilities really "work" and plan for the future. This lack of understanding can lead to poorly informed decisions and policies that directly affect the choices utilities must make. Using easy-to-understand text and examples, Electric Utility Resource Planning: Economics, Reliability, and Decision-Making clarifies how utilities operate their systems and prepare for the future. This explanation will show readers that both expected and counterintuitive results can occur (i.e., conservation might result in higher air emissions, or lowering costs could lead to higher electric rates). Taking readers step by step through this process, the book (in the following order): "Creates" a hypothetical utility Explains how and why a utility operates its system of generating units Discusses the planning methods that a utility would (or should) use Guides readers through each stage of a planning analysis for the hypothetical utility, examining various resource options (conservation, new power plants, and solar) In addition, the author introduces four Fundamental Principles of Resource Planning that should guide utilities. He also offers opinions on how certain trends in utility regulation and legislation can hinder utility planners' efforts to identify and select the best resources for the utility's customers. With this book, author Dr. Steven Sim applies his experience and insights from more than two decades of resource planning for Florida Power and Light (FPL). As one of the largest utilities in the United States, FPL has faced a multitude of resource planning challenges, and Dr. Sim has performed and supervised thousands of analyses designed to meet these obstacles. He has also served as an FPL witness in regulatory hearings on a wide variety of topics, ranging from the economic implications of nuclear, conservation, coal, gas, and other resource options, to the non-economic impacts (air emissions, fuel usage, system reliability, etc.) they present.
A thoroughly updated introduction to the current issues and challenges facing managers and administrators in the investor and publicly owned utility industry, this engaging volume addresses management concerns in five sectors of the utility industry: electric power, natural gas, water, wastewater systems and public transit. Beginning with a brief overview of the historical development of the industry, the author examines policy issues including the consequences of dealing with deteriorating infrastructure, an aging workforce, climate warming, funding for repair and replacement of facilities, and the demands for meeting the needs of a growing population. In addition to reviewing issues related to various management tasks, he includes chapters on physical and cyber threats and management ethics, liberally laced with real-life examples of utilities' dealings with these challenges. Many tables, figures and boxes expand on key points from the text. Accessible and comprehensive, this thoughtful exploration of the various issues facing administrators and operators in public utilities in the new century will prove a useful overview for students of business and economics, utility staff, and directors of local utility governing boards.
A retro-fit offers many benefits: cutting electricity and heating bills, increasing the resale value of homes, slashing carbon emissions and creating a healthier place to live. This book is the guide to making it happen. It looks at: draught-proofing, insulation and damp ventilation, heating and cooling electrical efficiency and renewable energy water use and re-use materials' life cycles and incorporating nature protection from climate change impacts - modelling energy flows and embodied energy how we can meet the need to cut carbon emissions from dwellings by eighty percent by 2050. Projects can apply to apartment blocks, recent builds and older, solid-walled properties. Enlivened with helpful diagrams and photographs, plus plenty of pointers for further information, it provides a comprehensive resource handbook for any building professional and contractor, students - or any homeowner serious about efficiency (cash and carbon) savings.
This collection highlights materials research and innovations for a wide breadth of energy systems and technologies. The volume includes papers organized into the following sections:Energy and Environmental Issues in Materials Manufacturing and ProcessingMaterials in Clean PowerMaterials for Coal-Based PowerMaterials for Energy Conversion with Emphasis on SOFCMaterials for Gas TurbinesMaterials for Nuclear EnergyMaterials for Oil and Gas
Written by an expert in energy business who has been invited to G20/B20 taskforces Covers the latest developments in smart cities, green transport, and carbon solutions Each chapter features practical strategies alongside international examples and case studies
This volume is the latest in an annual series, published in association with the Institute of Economic Affairs and the London Business School, which provides an up-to-date review of the state of utility regulation in Britain, with some relevant overseas comparisons. The book, edited and with an introduction by Colin Robinson, covers many of the major issues and significant developments in the field of regulation and competition policy. In each case, essays by expert contributors are followed by the views of the sector regulator. This volume will prove invaluable to practitioners, policymakers and lawyers involved in monopoly regulation, regulatory reform and deregulation.
Examining the reform and restructuring of the electricity industry in China, India and Russia, this book explores the way that local conditions and institutions shape the commitment, direction and speed of public utility reform in the three countries. It questions the validity of the argument that one model for electricity reforms will work in all countries, on the grounds that the industry is the same everywhere, by examining the World Bank's involvement in economic reforms in developing and transition economies. The author asks how the template developed by the World Bank has affected the three countries and seeks to explain why changes took place, how effectively they have been proceeding, and what the consequences are for these countries. In so doing, Electricity Reform in China, India and Russia challenges both the assumption behind the new reform paradigm - that market competition is the panacea for all the ills of the electricity industry - and the oft-cited belief that a single template can work in different environments. China, India and Russia have different political and economic systems and at different development stages. Xu Yi-chong uses the experience of the three countries to illustrate the complications created by the use of a single template, a policy encouraged by the World Bank, to direct reform and the need to appreciate the different problems that each had to overcome. Academics and students who are interested in comparative politics, comparative economics, public policy and particularly the reform of public utilities will find this work of great interest, as will practitioners and those who are involved in restructuring the electricity industry worldwide.
This book examines the ongoing transformation of public utilities, also known as network-based industries, in Western Europe and the United States. Examples are telecommunications, energy, and water distribution. Most of these network-based industries were until recently natural monopolies. Over the last two decades national governments have embarked upon privatization, deregulation and liberalization of their public utilities. The contributors in this volume examine the many related aspects, including: * key characteristics and regulation of network based industries * the emerging EU regulatory framework * corporate strategies, industry dynamics, and organizational performance * case studies from the telecommunications and water industries * engineering competition versus engineering regulation. This book provides a non-ideological and multidisciplinary overview of recent views and experiences with the liberalization, privatization and regulatory reform of public utilities in Europe and the United States. As such it will be of interest to scholars and researchers of institutional economics, and organizational studies, as well as regulators, policymakers and consultants involved in both studying and governing network-based industries.
Water and Wastewater Engineering Technology presents the basic concepts and applications of water and wastewater engineering technology. It is primarily designed for students pursuing programs in civil, water resources, and environmental engineering, and presents the fundamentals of water and wastewater technology, hydraulics, chemistry, and biology. The book examines the urban water cycle in two main categories, water treatment and distribution, and wastewater collection and treatment. The material lays the foundation for typical one-semester courses in water engineering and also serves as a valuable resource to professionals operating and managing water and wastewater treatment plants. The chapters in this book are standalone, offering the flexibility to choose combinations of topics to suit the requirements of a given course or professional application. Features: • Contains example problems and diagrams throughout to illustrate and clarify important topics. • Problems both in SI and USC system of units. • The procedure of unit cancellation followed in all solutions to the problems. • Design applications and operation of water and wastewater system emphasized. • Includes numerous practice problems with answers, and discussion questions in each chapter cover a range of engineering interventions to help conserve water resources and preserve water quality.
This book helps power industry executives to systematically navigate the complex technological and organizational changes necessary to recreate power grids. This is especially pertinent in the current environment characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity conditions. Across the globe, the electric power sector is facing many forces of change as it transitions from a fossil-based system to cleaner sustainable resources. Leaders in the power sector face unprecedented challenges in responding to these changes while continuing to provide safe, reliable, clean, and affordable electricity. Recognizing that historical and existing ways will not work, Jagoron Mukherjee and Marco C. Janssen present a new paradigm for industry leaders to tackle some of the key questions to determine the best path forward: What will the business be like in the future? What technologies will likely prevail? How should my company respond to constant change? How expensive will the transition be? Will the customer expectations be met? How fast do we need to change? Drawing on well-known management principles, the book helps industry leaders to provide a methodology to tackle these questions and sharpen their decisions as they embrace innovation, new customer expectations and digitization in their efforts to steer the energy transition. Taking a holistic problem-solving approach, which addresses the power company as a whole, Recreating the Power Grid will be a valuable resource for all professionals working in this quickly evolving field.
- Provides a comprehensive introduction to the emerging interdisciplinary field of marine studies - Provides a unique social science and humanities approach to key marine challenges, including climate change, pollution and aquaculture - Includes examples of professional or academic areas of specialization within Marine Studies such as social and environmental justice, governance, traditional ecological knowledge and management, community development, conservation, and the blue economy - provide the first cohesive resource on Marine Studies to educate students, train interdisciplinary marine leaders, and build capacity for a new generation of marine-focused professionals
This book is a practitioner's guide to sustainable development, laying out strategies for attracting investment for communities and their partners. It proposes an innovative Sustainable Development Proposition (SDP) decision-making tool based on a propositional calculus that can be used to analyse the sustainability of an infrastructure investment. It draws on environmental sustainability governance data analysis enabling investors to understand the economic indicators, income potential, return on investment, demand and legal compliance, as well as community and social benefits. Identified risks, issues and advantages are managed and monitored, and the SDP guidance can be applied to improve the prospects of the project in order to attract investment. Sustainable Community Investment Indicators (SCIIs (TM)) have been developed to assist with attracting investment and monitoring feedback on infrastructure projects, designed by the author for remote rural and indigenous communities - in response to current industry tools that are designed for urban environments. The book includes a broad range of real-world and hypothetical case studies in agricultural and indigenous areas in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Taking a diverse economies approach, these industry tools can be adapted to allow for enterprise design with unique communities. This book provides sustainable development practitioners, including government agencies, financiers, developers, lawyers and engineers, with a positive, practical guide to addressing and overcoming global issues with local and community-based solutions and funding options.
Stabilization of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to safe levels will require, at least in the longer term, some kind of technological revolution. This, in turn, can only be achieved through investments in the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of carbon-free energy technologies. Innovation under Uncertainty presents original research and insights on the uncertain future of carbon-free energy technologies. The authors, by means of structured interviews with technology experts, portray a probabilistic landscape of future technologies' costs, potentials and limits to diffusion.This book collates the results of interviews with more than a hundred and twenty energy technology experts on a wide range of topics, from the impact of public European RD&D investment on the future cost of different low-carbon energy technologies to issues such as technological and diffusion barriers. The results offer important and concrete insights and recommendations concerning the potential role for public expenditure in innovation to bring clean generation technologies to the market. This unprecedented collection of qualitative and quantitative estimates will be invaluable to academics and policy makers drafting future energy policies, and integrated assessment and energy modelers characterizing the future development of different technological options. Contributors: L. Aleluia, V. Bosetti, M. Bunn, M. Catenacci, L.A. Diaz, G. Fiorese, A. Lee, E. Verdolini,
Future energy technologies must embrace and achieve sustainability by displacing fossil carbon-intensive energy consumption or capture/reuse/sequester fossil carbon. This book provides a deeper knowledge on individual low (and zero) carbon technologies in a comprehensive way, covering details of recent developments on these technologies in different countries. It also covers materials and processes involved in energy generation, transmission, distribution, storage, policies, and so forth, including solar electrical; thermal systems; energy from biomass and biofuels; energy transmission, distribution, and storage; and buildings using energy-efficient lighting.
Advances in Hydrology and Climate Change: Historical Trends and New Approaches in Water Resources Management highlights recent trends in the water sector that employ a variety of different innovative management and conservation approaches. The volume provides an informative overview of the issues and challenges in water resources affected by climate change conditions, such as drought, flooding, glacier changes, and overbuilt-up urban areas. Focusing on surface and groundwater related issues and sustainable solutions, the chapters present a variety of methods, including morphometric assessment, parameter estimation, long-term trend analysis, sustainability indexes, storm water management models (SWMM), entropy-based measurement of long-term precipitation, etc. The volume focuses on providing a better understanding of climatic uncertainty through hydrometeorological data sets and their application in hydrological modeling. These analyses help to serve as the basis for the design of flood-control and water-usage management policies. The chapters discuss climatic variability that depends on several factors, i.e., its erratic distribution, topography, seasonal variation, land-use change, anthropogenic activities, etc., demonstrating the overall interconnection between different parameters of hydrological cycles to design modeling approaches that include using soft-computing applications, remote sensing and GIS-based techniques, artificial neural networks, and more. This book will be a standard reference work for disciplines in water resources, soil and water engineering, engineering hydrology, groundwater hydrology, climate change, agrometeorology, agriculture, ecology and environmental science, leading to a way forward for strategy formulation for combating hydrology and climate change.
Bringing together leading experts from across the UK and Europe, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of Brexit on the energy sector in the UK and in the European Union and its member states. In recent decades, the trend within the EU has been towards greater integration and liberalisation of energy markets. Through the development of the Union's Internal Energy Market and the funding of cross-border energy infrastructure, EU membership facilitates cross-border trade in energy, promotes security of energy supply and via EURATOM allows EU member states to trade in nuclear material for energy production. Brexit changes all of this. The significant level of integration and interdependence in EU energy policy means that the UK's departure from the Union poses many challenges for the UK, the EU and its member states. While certain energy-related arrangements have been addressed, the relationship between the UK and EU in the energy sector has been changed fundamentally. In this context important and interrelated questions arise, such as including: * Under what terms will energy trading between the EU and UK now take place? * What access will the UK have to EU energy markets? * What does Brexit mean for the security of energy supply? * What does the UK's departure from EURATOM mean for nuclear research? * Can the cross-border Single Energy Market (SEM) on the island of Ireland continue following Brexit? * What implications does Brexit have for renewables, the environment and climate change? Brexit comes at a time when the European energy sector is undergoing the processes of decarbonisation and energy transition. This book offers researchers, legal practitioners and policy advisers in-depth understanding of the interplay between these challenges and Brexit.
This book turns what has been mostly an academic and anthropological discussion into a practical text to help professionals manage the process of resettling communities. Written by a leading expert in the field of land access and resettlement. The book is unique in challenging the conventional approach to livelihood restoration, i.e., restoration of livelihood activities and use of aggregate welfare indicators (income) and outlines a more holistic approach focussed on the desired outcome of ‘livelihood re-establishment and development’.
Discusses effluent discharges into various ambient waters and predictive tools for design and regulatory purposes. Emphasis placed on numerical modeling and simulations, rather than general examples. Provides real technical solutions and tools for minimizing the impact on coasts and other water bodies. Covers the fundamentals in predicting the mixing of effluents resulting from desalination plants. Includes an introduction to OpenFOAM and its applications.
The central questions of this book are how technologies decline, how societies deal with technologies in decline, and how governance may be explicitly oriented towards parting with 'undesirable' technology. Surprisingly, these questions are fairly novel. Thus far, the dominant interest in historical, economic, sociological and political studies of technology has been to understand how novelty emerges, how innovation can open up new opportunities and how such processes may be supported. This innovation bias reflects how in the last centuries modern societies have embraced technology as a vehicle of progress. It is timely, however, to broaden the social study of technology and society: next to considering the rise of technologies, their fall should be addressed, too. Dealing with technologies in decline is an important challenge or our times, as socio-technical systems are increasingly part of the problems of climate change, biodiversity loss, social inequalities and geo-political tensions. This volume presents empirical studies of technologies in decline, as well as conceptual clarifications and theoretical deepening. Technologies in Decline presents an emerging research agenda for the study of technological decline, emphasising the need for a plurality of perspectives. Given that destabilisation and discontinuation are seen as a way to accelerate sustainability transitions, this book will be of interest to academics, students and policy makers researching and working in the areas of sustainability science and policy, economic geography, innovation studies, and science and technology studies. |
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